Thursday, September 15, 2016

This week I set out to try drawing mundane items around and near my art table using black ink. I did not put the little saying with them that you see with the usual etegami, but I was doing this as practice.I am having trouble finding a brush that I like to use with the ink that does not separate.

These are the watercolors I did.

My daddy worked as an engineer until he was 100. At 91 they all gave him the usual birthday office party and one of the engineers drew a caricature of him. Well, I decided to see if I could do the same thing. He always wore Lily Pulitzer men's shirts and trousers and bow ties. He was never without his hat because he was totally bald. He lived to be 100 1/2.

The little girl here is a actually a paper doll I made and watercolored. I hooked the her arms and legs to the body with picture wire. It was fun to make. I did not have room to put the real name of my elementary school on the building so I decided to use mine...:-)

Monday, September 12, 2016

A week ago Buddy and I went to Damascus, VA, for him to run another ultra marathon. While he was running, I went walking on the AT, the Creeper Trail, and around Beartree Lake. We stayed at the cutest place, Hikers Inn. The owners turned their garage into a bunk room and a queen room, and there was a shared bath for all. What a deal for hikers...$25.00 a nite. We stayed in the house in a kingsize bed and AC for $75.00 a night. What a great deal. We loved the owners and will return there next year. Our world really does consist of - to a large extent - Bud's and my going to his 1/2, full, and ultra marathon races. This is one of my favorite spots to go.

Here is a collection of photos from that day.

Crossing the Finish Line - Ultra Marathon - Damascus Virginia

Today is Bud’s 64th birthday, and he has been running since he was a teenager. Now he has only one year until he can get his Medicare! WooHoo! He has hiked the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine, and is also a biker. It took him a total of 10 years to hike the entire trail doing it on his vacations in the summers, and he and I are both very proud to say he did NOT skip out on one single mile of it. We have been married 37 years, and if you all did not already know, I am 13 years older...77. So, not only is he an athlete who refuses to give up even with a painful hip requiring lots of physical therapy and exercises at home, he is a saint for putting up with me all these years. My youngest was only 6 and the other two were teenagers when we married, and he was been a wonderfully kind and loving step-father to the three of them. No one gave it a chance to last. Well, we showed them! I call him the "Ever Ready Bunny" because he never stops.

If ou click on the picture, you will see the sign - Hikers Inn.Our comfy room was the one upstairs in the front right corner.

These two pictures are of another B and B across the street from Hikers Inn. Damascus, Va, is a precious little town filled with the nicest and most accommodating folk in the world. The AT runs right down that main street so there are LOTS of B and B's geared to hikers and other that want to bike the Creeper Trail.

We ate in a little restaurant, and I got there biggest kick out of the "sign” on the aprons worn by the people working there...Today's Menu ~ Take It or Leave It

The footpath through the woods around the lake is 1 mile.

I chose not to sit on this bench. I was deathly afraid of Poison Ivy.

The walk around the lake was a mushroom hunters heaven on earth. The red one is my favorite. I felt like a gnome was going to come hopping out at any moment. I have no clue what their names are, and if any of them are poisonous. If any of you know and can identify them, I would love to have the information. I didn't touch any of them or the Poison Ivy which was happily growing everywhere I walked.

Sunday, September 11, 2016

On our way home last weekend from Damascus, VA, I spotted this little barn on the side of the road. Since I was driving there was no "Barn Alert " shouted.The two farmers were so nice to me and told me all about the place. My iPhone gave me a mean message that I had no more room for pictures, so I dragged out an old point and shoot. I did not know it but there was something wrong with it and it was blurring the sides of my pictures. The farmers gave me their names and addresses and I was going to let them now when I posted the photos, but I lost the little sheet of paper. I just hope they kept theirs and will look anyway.

This is the farmhouse and the pen and shed are where they raise the baby cows and then sell them to the farmer across the road who raises and then sells them.

The full barn is used for hay and the hay loft is just odds and ends of stuff.

I was interested the size of the beams. The men told me the place was built in the 1920's.

Back of barn and a little shed.

I am so sorry this photo of the farmers came out so poorly...still I wanted to share it. The gentleman on the left was the farmer, and the other gentleman was his friend and helper.

I know Buddy got tired of me yapping with the guys. He had just finished an ultra marathon, and all he wanted to do was go home and hit the bed.

Friday, September 9, 2016

Here are some things I have done this week. I have been down and under with really BAD allergies, and have spent ages feeling like I have the flu and a breathing disorder. Bud cannot stand the wheezing. He says he can hear it across the room. I am allergic to EVERYTHING pretty outside and anything with just or mold inside at this time of the year...and especially Trouble his cat. He is the worst. I cannot go near him.

My Etemani Cards for the Week

Bud's Romas are still coming in but all that are left are green.

He brought me in another purple sweet pepper, and this one was lots bigger that the others but still small. I decided to try to draw it again. This time I made it as a note card on watercolor paper.

This is my first attempt at trying to draw a Marigold. Bud loves them, and he plants them all over the place. This was the best I could do.

This is my doodle for the week. I felt so crummy that I laid in bed and doodled affirmations trying to pull myself up by the bootstraps. The stippling does not show up well here, but it does on the paper.

This is a watercolor of a little girls of days long past with her popcorn while sitting on the fence. I am trying to learn to paint lips so this is a beginner's try.

Sunday, August 28, 2016

I created this collage using pictures from Mischief Circus's Funny Farm Collection,

but I could not find a name for the quote at the top. I was thinking of my dear friend,Rose, from Pics and Piecing and the condition of her husband. They both need all the strength they can muster plus all of our thoughts and prayers. For those of you who did not know about Roger, please click on the link above. She is posting updates on her blogs and has been a faithful participant in The Barn Collective.

Guess it knows how strong it needs to be, because it is still standing.Please stop by Tom's Barn Collective to see more interesting barns from this week.